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December 15th, 2010
by T2 + Back Alley Team
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Google Demo Slam-Get Creative with Google’s Clever New Marketing Contest

Google Demo SlamAs a motion design agency with a passion for user experience design, when something truly creative crosses our path, we like to share it, share in it, and let our creative juices flow. An inspirational, creative, social, and just plain fun new competition has descended upon us. Google Demo Slam is really an innovative approach to marketing from the Search Engine’s viewpoint. But from our perspective, as motion design agency with a film production offshoot, it is a golden opportunity to flex our digital filmy fingers and create.

The Demo Slam has invited anyone and everyone with a little “maker juice” –not just motion design types–to be an advocate for one of the search giant’s products. You can choose to highlight the incredible user experience design and nifty features of:

    Google Goggles
    Google Voice Search
    Google Instant
    Google Translate
    Local Search
    Google Realtime
    Google Image Search
    Universal Search
    Custom home page
    Other Google technology

Basically you create a video showcasing why a product is cool, upload it to YouTube, then submit it to the contest. Every week two Slams compete against each other and users pick the winner.

Other motion design studios and filmmakers have already jumped on the contest. The range of ideas and creativity is incredibly inspiring. Not surprisingly, the amateurs using just their handheld cameras and an idea have really stepped up to the plate and shared their smiles.

The Search Mogul has hit a home run with this user experience design. A clever little old fashioned microphone swings with your mouse pointer while you decide which Slam contestant to watch and then which one to choose as the winner. The winner will actually be put into a Champion’s Hall of Fame.

This is Google’s way of getting you to “get the people who would never watch a tech demo — the people who ironically need them most … to not only watch them, but like them and share them with their friends.” Talk about a user experience design that engages!

So far the interest seems to still be in mounting phase…in other words we haven’t seen much in our motion design studio social networks…yet. But we expect that, just as Google hopes, Google Demo Slam will become “a place where boring tech demos become (hopefully) gotta-show-my-friends awesome–thanks to the creativity of Google users like you.” Once again, an incredible user experience design from the big guys with the weird name.

March 25th, 2010
by Carson Catlin
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Our Stuff: ’09 Motion Design Reel

It’s that time of year again. Time to take the best of motion design work that we’ve done during the course of the past year and smash it all together and create a demo reel.

All of us at T2 are very proud of the work on this reel and, hopefully, it will inspire you as it does us. Next up, stay tuned for the Visual Effects reel.

2010 MOTION DESIGN REEL from T2 + Back Alley Films on Vimeo.

This reel was a combination of great stuff that we were fortunate enough to work on during the course of the last year. It included work for Integrated Marketing Summit, Kansas City Area Development Council; VML/Wunderman for Microsoft; Giant Bob; Bernstein Rein for Time Warner; VML for Copia; KCADC for Animal Health Corridor; Reflector Agency for MGM; Trozzolo Advertising for “Don’t Be Jim” PSA; KCADC for “This American Dream”; Mueller Bressler Brown for Children’s Hospitals of Illinois; Skar Advertising for TDAmeritrade; Back Alley Films; Mueller Bressler Brown for Illinois Neurological Institute; Kansas City Art Institute; Mueller Bressler Brown for OSF St. Francis, Athletix Nation, Jump Co Advertising for Talledegah Richmond International Raceway, Kansas Speedway and Miami Homestead Racing; Relativity Media for Rogue Pictures. We appreciate the opportunity to involved with all of these incredible projects and it is our honor to share them with you.

Music credit: Prodigy – The Way it is

March 20th, 2010
by Carson Catlin
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me make summer


I wish it was that easy.
But unfortunately we will have to wait a few more months.
I used to look forward to spring, but this winter has been so crappy that now, I just want summer.

Anyhoo, that was the idea behind this post’s background.
I wanted to create something with a warm feel to it.
As always, your comments are appreciated.

Download
1680X1050
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iPhone

-CCC

March 3rd, 2010
by Michael Ong
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Let me edutaine you…

Fun infographic!
Well-designed edutainment
with facts and figures.

– Michael Ong

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from Jesse Thomas on Vimeo.

Footnote: Jesse Thomas did a fantastic animation on Vimeo, comprised of a series of fun factoids on the state of the Internet. All fascinating contents aside, the presentation of the facts are witty and entertaining. I’m a big advocate for camouflaging complicated and voluminous information and making it fun and entertaining. This piece reminds me of the motion graphic we worked on for the documentary, “The Next American Dream”, which has 226 airings on 90 PBS stations in 59 markets in 22 states so far. As the Art Director for this project, the challenge I posed for the motion design team was this: “How could we translate a long and confusing statement into something as simple as it can be? And most importantly, it has to be entertaining.” I’m proud to say that we successfully made the otherwise arduous textbook facts into a living-room friendly material. If you have the opportunity, watch The Next American Dream sometime – I’d love to know how you think we did. (How many times did I say entertaining?)